Mutsy Evo Review

The Mutsy Evo is a brilliant pushchair!!

Hopefully that statement has caught your attention, and so it should!

First Impressions, fold and styling:

The Mutsy Evo arrived in two small boxes and it was hard to believe there was a pushchair inside. Out of one box came a compact chassis, and out of the other came a tiny folded seat unit. The folded size, has to be the first main selling point of the Mutsy Evo. The Mutsy Evo is a pushchair that should fit most car boots. The Evo chassis folds compactly mainly because the pivot handle tucks well inside the pushchair. The seat unit folds in half like a clamshell, which makes a very small package. When flat, the seat unit nests inside the chassis neatly. The Evo can also be folded with the seat unit forward facing, but the fold is more chunky.

The easy release wheels slid easily onto the chassis. The front wheels have a neat rotating lock to make them swivel for great manoeuverability, or lock for going over rough ground. The chassis unfolded really easily once the storage lock was released. Finally the leatherette handlebar was lifted up into position by pressing in the two buttons on either side.

There are two sockets into which the seat unit fits. These need pushing upright until they click to make them solid. The seat unit then simply dropped into place on top, and is then opened by squeezing the handle recline lever open until the seat is in the desired position. The seat unit can either parent or forward face.

The first impressions are that the Mutsy Evo is a very smart looking pushchair. We have the Evo with the black chassis and black fabrics and it does look sleek and stylish. The attention to detail such as the leatherette handle, quality fabrics, detailing on the shoulder pads, webbing straps, padded seat and foot area, all exude quality.

The small fold is just one of the strengths of the Mutsy Evo. The Evo also boasts both an excellent seat unit, and a luxury carrycot in the very competitive price.

For anyone who has had a Mutsy before, it is worth saying that the Mutsy Evo feels quite different to the other members of the Mutsy family. In fact, during our test runs, I even popped into our local Mutsy stockist to check that I was correct in thinking this and the retailer agreed. The quality and style details like the fabrics, detailing etc are unmistakably Mutsy, but the chassis and seat unit are quite different. Even the harness buckle was noted by the retailer as being quite different. But this is not bad at all!! Just different and worth a look!

Child Comfort, Seat Recline and Harness:

There are four seat recline positions on the Evo pushchair seat. These include a lie flat position which is suitable for a newborn baby, and also a bolt upright seating position which is great for inquisitive toddlers or pre-schoolers. Both our children looked great in the seat whatever position we put them in. We loved how well the feet of our 3.7 year old could rest on the footrest. She looked comfortable and relaxed. The button recline made it easy to recline her, and then to sit her upright again. She could easily lie flat in the large Evo seat. It was even possible to have her parent facing. When parent facing we had to be careful that she didn’t accidentally knock the brake on, as her feet were resting on the brake bar. But in reality, most 3 and a half year olds (if still in a pushchair) would be forward facing.

For our 21 month old, the Mutsy Evo has a neat touch in the calf rest of the seat unit. The front of the padded area unzips and when pushed down a little, it becomes a footwell for a younger baby / child. This has been very useful for our youngest, especially when he is sleeping. Equally, we found another use for this feature – the padding can tuck behind the wipe clean footwell areas which is very useful for small muddy feet!! There are four positions for the calf rest including horizontal for a newborn, and vertically down to allow an older child to rest their feet on the footrest unobstructed.

The Mutsy Evo harness is a cotton webbing type one which is soft against a child and it adjusts easily. The Evo instructions say that there are only 2 harness height settings, but there are actually three sets of holes in the fabric at the front, and four holes at the rear! These should ensure that there is an appropriate height harness whether for a newborn or a pre-schooler.

The harness buckle is one where you can put one side in and then the other – great for wriggly toddlers and gentle on adult fingers ie non pinch. However although our two children didn’t try, we suspect the buckle would be fairly easy for a toddler to press and undo.

All round the seating positions and comfort for both children work really well. We are very impressed because it is hard to find a seat unit that really works well for the different ages of our children, but I would feel confident that a child from newborn to four could be accommodated comfortably in the Mutsy Evo.

Bumper Bar:

A foam covered bumper bar is included in the box. We found the bumper bar tricky to fit correctly – it took a few attempts, but once on, it doesn’t need really need removing, although it did mean I had to lift the eldest over the top because I did not want to have to refit the bumper bar again! When the Evo is folded with the seat attached forward facing, then the bumper bar can be left in situ. When the seat is removed and folded, then the bumper bar can be lowered to sit flatter inside the seat unit

Hood:

The Mutsy Evo has a good hood. It is made of quality fabric. There are two sections but there is also a zip out section in the middle to extend the hood, plus there is a flick out visor at the front. When not in use the Evo hood pushes back to nearly flush with the frame. There is no flopping or sliding and its firm when up. The Evo hood is also lined. The hood is high enough for our tall 3.7 year old to fit underneath with room to spare. There is a mesh covered peekaboo window in the hood. However this has three pieces of velcro to fix it, which are rather noisy to remove to peek at a child! The window is a little too low down to view a child, but it would allow for ventilation around the child’s head when warm.

Basket:

The Mutsy Evo shopping basket is fairly shallow at the rear. However the basket does go a long way up at the front, and it was really easy to drop things into the basket when the seat was parent facing, as well as forward facing. We managed to get a lot into the basket but it is imperative that the basket gets packed correctly so that things stack up behind one another, or else things can fall out at the back. I loved that it was easy to access the basket from all sides to push additional things in. Mutsy do tell me that there is an additional basket which can be added on, but I am awaiting information on this.

Handlebar:

We loved the leatherette handlebar covering. It gives the Mutsy a quality feel. The Mutsy Evo handlebar has a very wide range. We found that the lowest handle setting was at approx 84.5cms with the highest at a very tall 111.5cms. This makes the Evo a good choice for parents of different heights.

The Evo handlebar folds in very neatly inside the chassis, which contributes to the very compact fold. However to do this there is a long section from the pivot to the part where you hold the handle. With the handlebar in the two lowest positions, you feel a long way from the child. This is not an issue with the upper two handle positions. ie inline or above.

However we also see this long handlebar as a possible benefit to anyone who is looking for a good pushchair for a stroller board to go on. We suspect that the Step Up board would fit well behind the Evo with a large space inside the handlebar for a toddler to stand on the board.

Handling:

The Mutsy Evo handled really well. It was easy to push and to corner. Manoeuverability was good. The Evo was great on pavements and gravel. It handled uneven surfaces and grass well.

The only downside could be turning in a small space with the handlebar on the lower settings as it does make the Evo long. But again this is not an issue with the higher handlebar settings. It is easy enough to rotate the handlebar out of the way, and we found it useful to rotate the handlebar when in confined spaces eg. swimming changing room.

Carrycot:

The Mutsy Evo carrycot is a very good size. The fabrics appear to be good quality. The carrycot is fully lined and can be removed easily for washing. The hood is also lined. A mattress is included. We like the zip detailing on the carrycot – there are pockets under two zips on the carrycot body. There is also a large pocket at the front of the carrycot for slim items.

The carrycot requires two adaptors which are included in the box. These fit onto the chassis easily and the carrycot simply drops on top. The adaptors can be folded in flat for folding so that they do not stand up and get damaged. Simply push down firmly towards the centre and they fold over flat on themselves. The adaptors then just then need standing up and clicking into place after unfolding. Should you wish, the adaptors are easy to pop on and off.

The Mutsy carrycot hood rim incorporates a foam covered carrying handle. This seemed sturdy to use. The hood is put up and down using the two buttons on either side of the base of the hood.

There is a covered peekaboo window at the head end of the carrycot. The cover can be neatly rolled up out of the way. This would allow you to see your baby, should the carrycot be turned away from you, but also gives the baby an additional view of the world.

We also loved that there is an additional carrying strap on the Evo carrycot. This attaches at 3 points – 2 near the hood and one in the middle at the footend. This makes the empty carrycot easy to carry over one shoulder eg to the car leaving your hands free for your baby or the chassis.

The Evo carrycot really is a comfortable and cosy for a newborn.

Car Seats:

The Mutsy Evo can take several car seats making it a good travel system. It will take a Mutsy Safe2Go Group 0+; Mutsy Traveller 0+; Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix and Pebble; BeSafe Izi Go, or Cybex Aton.

Fold:

The Mutsy Evo chassis folds very easily. Simply fold the handle underneath and then slide two white buttons to make the chassis fold. The Evo will fold with the seat left on facing in either direction. The best way is to fold the handle underneath, then recline the seat flat, before using the two white sliders to release the chassis to fold. However, I have found that I sometimes need to push the handle further down at the end to make the chassis lock into position. Apparently locking the front wheels gives a more compact fold. I do have one niggle with the fold. Within a couple of days, the front edge of the footrest is already scraped from folding.

The Musty Evo will freestand when folded although it does rest on the hood to do so. The chassis on its own will not freestand, but the seat unit on its own will!

The Evo unfolds easily. There is an autolock which needs removing and then the chassis simply flicks open. Ideally the seat should be sat upright before the handle is unfolded.

There is a really useful handle on the chassis for carrying the folded chassis.

Brake:

The Mutsy Evo has a very easy to flick on and off foot brake.

In Conclusion:

All round though the Mutsy Evo has come through our testing period with flying colours. We loved using the Evo. The Evo worked brilliantly for both of our children and importantly both children looked very comfortable in the seat unit – this is actually quite hard to find in one pushchair. We loved the compact fold which made the Evo easy to store. We found the Evo was great to push and it was easy to manoeuvre through the obstacles that every day life gives you. All round the Mutsy Evo is one of the very best pushchairs on the market with a reversible seat.

On top of all this, the Mutsy Evo pushchair comes WITH a carrycot and raincovers, all for the extremely competitive price of £399! Wow!! A great quality pushchair that does everything you could want and more, for a great price.